The shuttle soared through the valley, hills flashing by as the pilot honed in on their target. The Lieutenant piloting the shuttle scanned the horizon, watching out for any inherent threats that would impact their flight path. Three other Lambda-class T-4a shuttles accompanied the ship.

The co-pilot watched the data output from the computer and pressed a button to open the comms to the seating area where several Sadowans and Warhost soldiers sat. “We’re approaching the drop site, prepare for landing.” The co-pilot then flipped a switch that bathed the seating area in red light, a visual warning for the passengers.

Raikou Keibatsu checked his rifle in response to the warning, the Aedile had volunteered to join the lead party investigating the reports of ancient ruins on the planet. Naga Sadow had undergone a recent metamorphosis. Their previous Consul, Locke Sonjie, had announced that the Clan were to rebuild the mythical Sith empire of the legend, Naga Sadow. To do so, they were to seek out ancient Sith artifacts that could be used against their enemies and tear down the power of the Dark Council and the Star Chamber.

The soldier didn’t care much for the idea, but he always relished the opportunity to excel and prove that he was more than a clone and worthy of respect. The strike by the Iron Throne against Naga Sadow had debilitated the Clan and destroyed several of their larger ships and injured Locke Sonjie. The Proconsul, Sanguinius Tsucyra Entar, had stepped into the void and risen to command the Clan that wished to herald in a new Sith Empire.

It was he who had declared that the Clan would continue to follow Sonjie’s vision and seek out artifacts. The Consul was situated on the Harbinger, a recently appropriated elderly Venator-class Star Destroyer in orbit over the planet. The Harbinger had been named for it’s predecessor, lost over Sepros in the strike by the Iron Throne. The Venator was accompanied by several other vessels, the bulk of which had been bought or stolen to shore up the losses that the Warhost had suffered, yet they did not plug the wounds that had been made.

Raikou didn’t regret volunteering for the mission in the slightest, and nodded at his companions seated opposite him. Tasha Vel’Versa smiled and nodded in response, while Armad simply stared back at the Aedile. The pair had been hand-picked by the Consul to be part of the expedition, who was assured of their loyalty and dedication to the cause.

Each shuttle contained more Sadowans, such as the new Quaestor of Shar Dakhan, Evelynn Wyrm and his compatriots, Aul Celsus and Lilith Alema’rha Versea-Stormwind.

The red light bathing the seating area began to pulse as the shuttle came into land and then turned green as the door opened. Raikou hit the release switch on his harness and exited the shuttle, his rifle raised as he scanned the area for threats. More Warhost troopers stomped down the ramp as the other shuttles landed.

VEN Harbinger

In orbit of Qirool VI

Qirool System

Taldot Sector

Jax Bendal stood on the bridge of the Harbinger, the newly appointed Proconsul was a relative newcomer to Naga Sadow, yet the man had filled the void in the Shadow Academy left by Marcus Kiriyu’s death. The Raider had a need to prove himself to his compatriots and was over eager to see that this investigation was a success. Admiral Simonetti, usually an ever-present addition to any Warhost operation was still recovering from his wounds received during the attack and instead the operation was masterminded by the Captain of the Harbinger, Wes Terol, who had commanded the Harbinger’s namesake.

The Chiss watched the progress of the shuttles on the computer screen, noting their touchdown with satisfaction. The planet was uninhabited according to their scans, yet caution was always required to avoid catastrophe. The shuttles had been accompanied by a squadron of T-70 X-Wings, who had parted ways to fly overwatch before returning to the Harbinger. If there was any trouble, air support could be scrambled and reach the expedition in minutes.

Sanguinius sat uncomfortably on a chair that had been installed near the rear left hand corner of the bridge, put there despite his protestations. The Augur had taken the role of Consul, but disliked the pageantry that often accompanied the role.

Wes Terol stood up from where he was leaning over the computer display and moved to where Sanguinius and Jax were located. “It appears that the expedition has landed safely, Consul.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Sang replied, smiling at the Chiss. “Please do keep me informed if there are any further developments.”

“As you wish, sir.”

Jax watched the Captain walk away before speaking. “Why are we not on the ground leading the expedition?” he enquired.

“Because despite the position I find myself in, Jax. I feel the need to let our fellow Sadowans blow off some steam.”

“So, we should have struck back against the Iron Throne!” Jax demanded.

“That would be folly, my friend. Let Pravus think that we are scared and licking our wounds. It makes us all the more dangerous.”

Jax kept silent, biting his tongue.

“Anyway, let us hope that the expedition has some good news for us.” Sang finished.

The aptly named New Ties denotes an opportunity for Naga Sadow to develop a friendship with our fellow club members and for both Clans to have the chance to have some fun before the upcoming Great Jedi War taking place this summer.

As you might have seen in the fiction, Clan Naga Sadow has gone exploring, eager to find artifacts that will allow them to herald the return of their namesake’s Sith Empire. Unfortunately, our little expedition runs into a problem that only one of our fellow Clans can help us with. Tarentum, experts in dealing with the dead due to their past exploits, has come to assist their new found “friends”.

Whether Tarentum and Naga Sadow part on good terms will be a different matter. Will Naga Sadow retrieve what they were looking for on Qirool VI? Will Tarentum take the artifact from them?

Well, you’ll find out as we progress through New Ties.

For our friends in Tarentum, the Week 1 fiction is unfortunately Naga Sadow heavy due to setting the scene. I am looking forward to the other fictions for the opportunity to highlight our new friendships and interact with one another! :D (hint: I’m also looking forward to your RO posts).

My terrible fiction writing was inflicted on you for Week 1, I hope that it wasn't too bad for you all!

Frosty, Beef, Jax and I have got lots of competitions for you to enjoy and I’d like to thank those who got involved in creating this event, such as Evelynn, Muz, Bentre, Korras and Ranarr! I'd also like to thank our Herald, Vyr, for his quick turn around in throwing together a banner for the event despite my terrible gfx ideas.

We’ve using a brand new custom Telegram channel for this event, the link to that can be found here.

The Wiki Page for this event can be live soon and I'll advertise the link on Telegram. My thanks to Bentre for putting this together!

Scoring

In the interest of openness, we are using the following scoring system for this event.